In the last 24 hours, ChatGPT and Perplexity have introduced new AI-driven shopping experiences that aim to deliver more personalized product discovery and guidance. Both experiences are meant to help users find, compare, and purchase products through conversational queries informed by preferences and past behavior.
ChatGPT
Shopping research. OpenAI introduced shopping research, a guided buying experience that turns ChatGPT into a personalized product researcher.
Users describe what they need (e.g., “quiet cordless vacuum,” “compare these strollers,” “gift for my art-obsessed niece”).
ChatGPT asks clarifying questions, pulls price/spec/review data from the open web, and produces a tailored buyer’s guide in minutes.
It adapts based on your preferences and ChatGPT memory, and can refine picks in real time as users mark items “More like this” or “Not interested.”
How it works. The feature runs on a specialized GPT-5 mini model optimized for shopping tasks, designed to pull reliable information from trusted sites and cite its sources.
Rollout. Available now on free and paid ChatGPT plans on web and mobile, with “nearly unlimited” usage through the holidays.
What’s next. Instant Checkout integrations will allow purchases directly inside ChatGPT for participating merchants.
Perplexity
New shopping experience. Perplexity launched a free U.S. shopping experience built around its core philosophy: AI assistants should scale a shopper, not replace them.
Users search conversationally (e.g., “best winter jacket for San Francisco ferry commute”) and Perplexity keeps context as you pivot to related needs.
It remembers preferences (e.g., mid-century modern style, minimalist running gear) and tailors future product cards accordingly.
Instead of infinite scroll, it generates streamlined product cards with only the details tied to the user’s stated intent.
Integrated checkout. A partnership with PayPal brings fast, in-flow purchases with retailers remaining merchant of record. That means merchants still get customer visibility, handle returns, and maintain the relationship.
Why retailers may care. Perplexity said shoppers who go through a conversational funnel have higher purchase intent, and instant checkout reduces abandonment.
Availability. The new shopping experience is live on desktop and the web now, with iOS and Android apps rolling out in the next few weeks.
Why we care. AI assistants are an emerging channel for ecommerce. ChatGPT’s focus is deep research, while Perplexity’s is smooth discovery and built-in checkout. Both aim to become the starting point for shoppers’ buying journeys by making brand/product recommendations that appear personal and tailored to their preferences.
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As shopping becomes more visually driven, imagery plays a central role in how people evaluate products.
Images and videos can unfurl complex stories in an instant, making them powerful tools for communication.
In ecommerce, they function as decision tools.
Generative search systems extract objects, embedded text, composition, and style to infer use cases and brand fit, then
LLMs surface the assets that best answer a shopper’s question.
Each visual becomes structured data that removes a purchase objection, increasing discoverability in multimodal search contexts where customers take a photo or upload a screenshot to ask about it.
Visual search is a shopping behavior
Shoppers use visual search to make decisions: snapping a photo, scanning a label, or comparing products to answer “Will this work for me?” in seconds.
For online stores, that means every photo must answer that task: in‑hand scale shots, on‑body size cues, real‑light color, micro‑demos, and side‑by‑sides that make trade‑offs obvious without reading a word.
These evolving behaviors map to specific intent categories.
General context
Multimodal search aligns with intuitive information-finding.
Users no longer rely on text-only fields. They combine images, spoken queries, and context to direct requests.
Quick capture and identify
By snapping a photo and asking for identification (e.g., “What plant is this?” or querying an error screen), users instantly solve recognition and troubleshooting tasks, speeding up resolution and product authentication.
Visual comparison
Showing a product and requesting “find a dupe” or asking about “room style” eliminates complex textual descriptions and enables rapid cross-category shopping and fit checking.
This shortens discovery time and supports quicker alternative product searches.
Information processing
Presenting ingredient lists (“make recipe”), manuals, or foreign text triggers on-the-fly data conversion.
Systems extract, translate, and operationalize information, eliminating the need for manual reentry or searching elsewhere for instructions.
Modification search
Displaying a product and asking for variations (“like this but in blue”) enables precise attribute searching, such as finding parts or compatible accessories, without needing to hunt down model or part numbers.
These user behaviors highlight the shift away from purely language-based navigation.
Multimodal AI now enables instant identification, decision support, and creative exploration, reducing friction across both ecommerce and information journeys.
You can view a comprehensive table of multimodal visual search types here.
Prioritize high-contrast color schemes. Black text on white backgrounds is the gold standard.
Critical details (e.g., ingredients, instructions, warnings) should be presented in clean, sans-serif fonts (e.g., Helvetica, Arial, Lato, Open Sans) and set against solid backgrounds, free from distracting patterns.
This means treating physical product labeling like a landing page, as Cetaphil does.
AI does not isolate your product. It scans every adjacent object in an image to build a contextual database.
Props, backgrounds, and other elements help AI infer price point, lifestyle relevance, and target customers.
Each object placed alongside a product sends a signal – luxury cues, sport gear, utilitarian tools – all recalibrating the brand’s digital persona for machines.
A distinctive logo within each visual scene ensures rapid recognition, making products easier to identify in visual and multimodal AI search “in the wild.”
Tight control of these adjacency signals is now part of brand architecture.
Deliberate curation ensures AI models correctly map a brand’s value, context, and ideal customer, increasing the likelihood of appearing in relevant, high-value conversational queries.
Run a co-occurrence audit for brand context
Establish a workflow that assesses, corrects, and operationalizes brand context for multimodal AI search.
Run this audit in AI Mode, ChatGPT search, ChatGPT, and another LLM model of your choice.
Gather the top five lifestyle or product photos and input them into a multimodal LLM, such as Gemini, or an object detection API, like the Google Vision API.
Use the prompt:
“List every single object you can identify in this image. Based on these objects, describe the person who owns them.”
This generates a machine-produced inventory and persona analysis.
Identify narrative disconnects, such as a budget product mispositioned as a luxury or an aspirational item, undermined by mismatched background cues.
From these results, develop explicit guidelines that include props, context elements, and on-brand and off-brand objects for marketing, photography, and creative teams.
Enforce these standards to ensure every asset analyzed by AI – and subsequently ranked or recommended – consistently reinforces product context, brand value, and the desired customer profile.
This alignment ensures consistent machine perception with strategic goals and strengthens presence in next-generation search and recommendation environments.
Brand control across the four visual layers
The brand control quadrant provides a practical framework for managing brand visibility through the lens of machine interpretation.
It covers four layers, some owned by the brand and others influenced by it.
Known brand
This includes owned visuals, such as official logos, branded imagery, and design guides, which brands assume are controlled and understood by both human audiences and AI.
Image strategy
Curate a visual knowledge graph.
List and assess adjacent objects in brand-connected images.
Build and reinforce an “Object Bible” to reduce narrative drift and ensure lifestyle signals consistently support the intended brand persona and value.
Latent brand
These are images and contexts AI captures “in the wild,” including:
User photos.
Social sightings.
Street-style shots.
These third-party visuals can generate unintended inferences about price, persona, or positioning.
An extreme example is Helly Hansen, whose “HH” logo was co-opted by far-right and neo-Nazi groups, creating unintended associations through user-posted images.
Shadow brand
This quadrant consists of outdated brand assets and materials presumed private that can be indexed and learned by LLMs if made public, even unintentionally.
Audit all public and semi-public digital archives for outdated or conflicting imagery.
Remove or update diagrams, screenshots, or historic visuals.
Funnel only current, strategy-aligned visual data to guide AI inferences and search representations.
AI-narrated brand
AI builds composite narratives about a brand by synthesizing visual and emotional cues from all layers.
This outcome can include competitor contamination or tone mismatches.
Image strategy
Test the image’s meaning and emotional tone using tools like Google Cloud Vision to confirm that its inherent aesthetics and mood align with the intended product messaging.
When mismatches appear, correct them at the asset level to recalibrate the narrative.
Factoring for sentiment: Aligning visual tone and emotional context
Images do more than provide information.
They command attention and evoke emotion in split seconds, shaping perceptions and influencing behavior.
In AI-driven multimodal search, this emotional resonance becomes a direct, machine-readable signal.
Emotional context is interpreted and sentiment scored.
The affective quality of each image is evaluated by LLMs, which synthesize sentiment, tone, and contextual nuance alongside textual descriptions to match content to user emotion and intent.
To capitalize on this, brands must intentionally design and rigorously audit the emotional tone of their imagery.
Tools like Microsoft Azure Computer Vision or Google Cloud Vision’s API allow teams to:
Score images for emotional cues at scale.
Assess facial expressions and assign probabilities to emotions, enabling precise calibration of imagery to intended product feelings such as “calm” for a yoga mat line, “joy” for a party dress, or “confidence” for business shoes.
Align emotional content with marketing goals.
Ensure that imagery sets the right expectations and appeals to the target audience.
Start by identifying the baseline emotion in your brand imagery, then actively test for consistency using AI tools.
Ensuring your brand narrative matches AI perception
Prioritize authentic, high-quality product images, ensure every asset is machine-readable, and rigorously curate visual context and sentiment.
Treat packaging and on-site visuals as digital landing pages. Run regular audits for object adjacency, emotional tone, and technical discoverability.
AI systems will shape your brand narrative whether you guide them or not, so make sure every visual aligns with the story you intend to tell.
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In the good ol’ days of blogging, traffic was the main goal, and it was relatively easy to get.
Now, especially for ecommerce blogs, it’s getting harder to stay visible.
The number of Google searches that end with a click is slowly decreasing, while the number of searches that end with no clicks has increased.
While the number changes are small, they’re continuing to move in the direction of no-click searches. AI Overviews give people the answers they need at a glance, and website traffic is taking a toll as a result.
Aside from these trends in Google search, ecommerce blogs also face an uphill battle against big players like Amazon or Walmart.
With all of this in mind, you might be wondering: is it still worth the effort to build an ecommerce blog?
Here’s a real world example that shows why it still matters:
Pet care brand Petlibro has been around since 2020, but they didn’t start posting on their blog until 2022. Semrush’s Domain Overview suggests their organic growth has been pretty substantial since then.
Their website is ranking organically for over 25,000 keywords and stands in the first result for almost 1,500 of those.
And not only that: Petlibro is being mentioned and cited by AI search engines — more than 700 times.
AI search references Petlibro’s blog articles and mentions the brand directly in its response.
Their blog isn’t a separate entity to their ecommerce site. It’s a strategic tool that helps their brand get seen both in Google and in AI search — and get more conversions in the process.
Here’s the point: blogging is still valuable, especially for ecommerce brands, even in the era of AI search.
The difference between today and ten years ago is that the main goal isn’t traffic: it’s delivering clear, distinctive value for the reader.
Basically, you need to build something that AI can’t.
We’re going to dive deeper into ecommerce blog examples that are currently seeing big results and show you how to apply their strategies to your own brand.
What Makes an Ecommerce Blog Successful?
The more you study top ecommerce blogs, the more patterns start to emerge.
Before we explore each of the following examples in depth, keep an eye out for these key aspects of successful ecommerce blogs:
They know exactly who they’re talking to: All the top ecommerce blog examples we’ll discuss have a very clear target audience. And the content speaks directly to those people.
They understand intent: People search for certain terms just to gain information. Others search to learn about products, and others search because they’re ready to buy. The best ecommerce blogs know the difference between those different search intents. Then, they can create content that matches the intent of the search.
They present information in a way that’s easy to read and understand: There’s no specific format that guarantees success. But each example uses blog design essentials to make the information understandable. Their content also includes strong introductions and content that’s unique and interesting.
They integrate their store directly with their blog: The most successful ecommerce blogs are focused on conversions over traffic, and use smart integrations to showcase their products on the blog.
They prepare content to do well in the age of AI search: These blogs show up consistently in AI search by producing the kind of material AI loves to reference and mention. You’ll see how they create content that’s well structured, authoritative, and unique.
Now let’s see seven ecommerce blogs that exemplify these principles.
The goal of any ecommerce blog is to do more than just build traffic. You also want to build authority, win visibility in both Google and AI search, and nudge readers closer to buying.
The following examples cover a range of categories and company sizes. While they may not all have tens of thousands of visits per month, they’re all using their blog as a conversion tool and a way to get seen both in Google and in AI search.
And they all have something to teach you about staying visible, memorable, and findable as an ecommerce blog.
Note: We got the numbers for each of these from Semrush’s SEO Toolkit. Traffic numbers aren’t going to be 100% accurate (only the brands themselves will have the most up-to-date numbers). But it’s still useful for understanding broad trends.
1. Garmin
Industry: Consumer electronics
Organic blog traffic: 61.8K
Backlinks: 77.7K
Keywords: 46.1K
In the world of smartwatches and specialty sports gear, Garmin truly stands out. Their blog has grown consistently since mid 2022.
So, what makes this ecom blog stand out?
First off, the articles are a healthy mix of informational and commercial content.
For example, this article on finding your V02 max ranks for 4.6k keywords, and ranks #1 for 95 of those. It even shows up in the AI overview for a couple of difficult keywords.
The article is a deep-dive into a complex topic their audience is interested in. And while someone searching “good v02 max” may not be immediately interested in buying a watch, Garmin still includes plenty of ways to explore their products from this blog post.
For instance, readers can see CTAs to some of their most relevant watches in the sidebar, and they also see links to product categories in the text.
But Garmin also knows how to focus their blog on buying intent, which is why they also rank for terms like “Garmin aviation watch.”
From this single keyword, Garmin’s article on aviation watches gets 3.7k monthly organic traffic by ranking for 63 keywords. (I guess pilots really like their watches.)
But more than just creating content for search, Garmin has cracked the code on creating content that gets mentioned by AI.
Just look at Garmin’s incredible AI visibility score, with over 52k mentions:
AI search loves to highlight product information directly from the brand. Which is why Garmin’s clear, detailed support documentation appears so often in AI search results.
But their blog posts are also cited by AI to respond to product-related questions, like which smartwatch has the best battery life.
Something else that Garmin has done well is combine their content efforts on their owned channels with mentions across the web. Whether it’s tech review sites, YouTube videos, fitness blogs, or Google reviews, Garmin’s products are mentioned positively in a lot of places.
The result?
Semrush’s AI Visibility Index found that Garmin ranked #4 in AI Share of Voice for consumer electronics brands. They sit right at the top with heavy hitters like Apple and Google.
Key Lessons from Garmin’s Blog
Garmin is a multi-billion dollar company, well-known in its space. But importantly, they dominate their category. When you own a category (like smartwatches), it’s much easier for AI to surface your content and products to users.
Another company doing this is Patagonia. They dominate the category of ethical fashion, and have gained 21.96% of the AI Share of Voice (for Fashion & Apparel).
Another lesson from Garmin’s blog is the importance of providing clear information about your products.
AI search results tend to cite brands as authorities on their own products. But if you don’t answer the questions searchers have about your products? AI will usually attempt to base its answers on someone else’s article (whether that information is correct or not).
Finally, remember that your blog isn’t a solo marketing effort. When you partner with content creators outside your owned channels, you can expand your visibility in AI.
The more positive mentions your brand gets, the more likely you are to see yourself in AI answers and overviews.
We’ve already introduced you to Petlibro above: showing the power of blogging for ecommerce brands. Not only do they show up in search results, Petlibro’s blog posts are also being cited and mentioned by AI.
Take this post for example:
This informational post answers the question of how often to change the filters in a cat fountain. It’s not too long, but it answers the question clearly and gives just the right amount of detail.
So, along with ranking for 44 different keywords, it’s also showing up inside the answers given by ChatGPT and other AI search tools.
Another post, explaining why cats bring you toys, ranks in the top 10 for 14 keywords, and appears in the AI overview in Google.
But Petlibro doesn’t just post informational articles. They do a great job of striking the balance of intent, focusing on content that matches what the searcher is looking for.
For example, this blog article about choosing the perfect cat tree gets more than 500 visits per month and ranks for 127 keywords. Best of all, most of these keywords have commercial or transactional intent.
Key Lessons from Petlibro’s Blog
First off, Petlibro shows it’s important to develop a healthy mix of informational and transactional content.
Going after keywords at the top of the funnel works to build your authority. But content that helps point people to the right products when they’re already in the mood to buy brings more immediate results.
Next, for your brand to be visible in both Google and AI, you need to answer the questions people are asking. You can start by doing research on forums, but also try tools like Semrush’s AI SEO toolkit for prompt research.
This can give you an idea of the prompts people are using in AI platforms, and which websites AI is currently referencing or mentioning directly.
For example, let’s try searching for “home security camera systems.”
In the Prompt Research report, you can see AI volume for that topic, how difficult it is to gain visibility, the intent of the questions in this topic, and more details about the prompts used and the brands mentioned.
This gives you a great starting point to see what people are asking about within your topic. Then, you can create content that answers those questions.
3. Great Jones Goods
Industry: Cookware
Organic blog traffic: 11.6K
Backlinks: 1.7K
Keywords: 4.9K
Great Jones Goods’ blog stands out with fantastic visuals and content that is tailored to their audience.
Honestly, just looking at this blog is making me want to get into the kitchen and bake something.
Their blog has two main sections: recipes and personal profiles.
You gotta love these recipe posts. Just take this one for arroz con gandules:
Each recipe has a different author. So each post has a very personal feel.
It’s just like your favorite recipe blog, but without so many layers of fluff.
The posts also mention the cookware the author used (subtly highlighting their own products).
And each recipe is also accompanied by beautiful step-by-step visuals.
This all looks great: but what about the results?
Great Jones Goods isn’t getting millions in traffic. But their content does show up in all the right places.
For example, their profiles of chefs and well-known people rank in search results:
And their recipe posts also show up in AI overviews:
Their blog is consistent and targeted at their specific audience. Instead of being “sales-y,” they focus on being part of the community that they want to sell to.
Key Lessons from Great Jones Goods’ Blog
Beautiful, descriptive visuals are a key component of high-quality blog content. Plus, it’s a great way to make your blog stand out as different. When you’re creating content for your blog, ask yourself: how can I create something that AI can’t?
Great Jones does this by including step-by-step imagery and real-world examples of their products in use. That’s something shoppers love to see, and AI can’t replicate.
Another key takeaway from this ecommerce blog example is to include your community in your content. Great Jones does this with in-depth personal profiles that talk about the joy of cooking — something their target audience shares.
People crave connection with other humans, now more than ever. You can use your blog to become part of that community.
Try including people that the community already knows and loves. This will help your blog be more personal, as well as give you new ways to promote your blog.
When your brand is dedicated to a mission, you can use your blog to promote and grow that mission. And that’s exactly what the period underwear brand Thinx has done with their “Periodical” section.
First, they chose an incredibly appropriate name for their blog. Next, they filled it with articles all about menstrual health for women and teens.
The articles are generally on the short side, but answer key questions their audience is asking. And with that, they’re able to rank for difficult keywords like “when do you ovulate,” “period blood clots,” or “period nausea.”
Just this one article on ovulation ranks for 1.3k keywords, most of which are either hard or very hard to rank for per Semrush data.
They also build educational resources around the message: Get BodyWise.
Thinx takes body literacy seriously. In fact, they have a dedicated resource page aside from their blog that is built to provide candid, accessible information for people who bleed.
This even includes a series of educational videos from Dr. Saru Bala on women’s health.
Everything they do on the blog supports their mission to make period products and education more accessible to everyone who needs it.
And while their content doesn’t heavily promote their products (possibly on purpose), they do list a handful of relevant products at the end of each blog post. Just the right mix of promotional and educational.
Key Lessons from Thinx Periodical Blog
Your company mission statement isn’t just something that lives quietly on your About page.
It should be a living, breathing part of your business ethos.
It should come through in your marketing.
When your blog has a core mission behind it, the content you create has a clear direction. You’re not just chasing keywords: you’re building educational resources that truly benefit your audience.
The result?
Thinx builds brand affinity naturally over time, increasing the chances that folks will choose Thinx over a competitor when they’re ready to buy.
5. King Arthur Baking
Industry: Cooking ingredients
Organic blog traffic: 730K
Backlinks: 133K
Keywords: 338K
King Arthur Baking’s blog ranks in the top 10 for some of the most difficult keywords in baking. That includes terms like “baguette,” “pizza,” or “types of cinnamon.”
So, how did they get here?
King Arthur Baking didn’t limit themselves to written content. They created a content ecosystem that also included multimedia content.
Currently, the King Arthur YouTube channel has over 330K subscribers. They post recipes, along with video versions of their podcast episodes.
These videos work seamlessly inside their blog posts.
For example, check out their blog post on chocolate chip cookies.
The video from their YouTube video is part of the image gallery at the top.
But it’s also spliced together with the step-by-step recipe instructions below.
Doing this increases their chances of ranking for difficult keywords. And in some cases, they even rank more than once in the search results.
Key Lessons from King Arthur’s Bakery Blog
Google and AI won’t rank what they can’t understand, so giving clear structure and formatting to your blog is an essential first step to rank better.
For example, King Arthur uses schema markup for their recipes. This helps them rank in rich results on Google.
Another lesson from King Arthur is using multimedia when it makes sense. Try creating videos that show your products in action, or clearly answer a question that your audience is asking. These can help you increase time on page and appear in more search results.
Finally, know when to push your products. King Arthur does a great job of subtly adding their products to content.
For example, their blog posts include “featured products,” a CTA to “Shop this recipe,” and “Recommended for you” products at the end of each post.
6. Keychron
Industry: Electronics
Organic blog traffic: 62.1K
Backlinks: 7.1K
Keywords: 25.8K
For a seriously niche blog and product, Keychron has a pretty hefty presence online. Their blog has had steady traffic growth since around 2020. And they rank for all kinds of keywords about keyboards.
For example, this article about hall effect switches gets over 1,700 visits per month.
The post ranks #1 for that main keyword. But it also appears in search results, AI overviews, and image packs for 137 other keywords.
Their blog posts do a great job of using visuals to explain topics about the tech. And they get to gently promote their own products when appropriate.
Of course, this kind of top-of-the-funnel content is likely to drive less traffic as more people rely on AI Overviews and other AI tools for quick answers to their questions.
But it can still drive some traffic. And careful linking and CTA placement can turn that traffic into conversions.
Key Lessons from Keychron’s Blog
One key takeaway from Keychron’s blog?
Don’t be afraid to go niche.
Your audience may have very deep knowledge of a topic (like keyboards), or they may be generalists looking for an overall view of the topic. It’s up to you to know who your audience is, and develop content for them.
Topics like “Best Keyboards for World of Warcraft” may seem niche, but it fits Keychron’s highly specific audience (and does a great job of showcasing their products).
The root domain didn’t take as much of a hit. But the blog experienced a spike and a sudden drop around early 2021.
Thankfully, Huckberry didn’t let that stop them.
They still had another card up their sleeve: their YouTube channel.
While the channel was created back in 2016, there was no consistency, and hardly any views.
But sometime after traffic dipped on the blog, we see a change in the posting pattern on YouTube. Suddenly, they’re posting consistently.
They share video series, interviews, and more (some of which get hundreds of thousands of views).
And over time, Huckberry became the go-to place for adventure content for men.
They started sharing videos about culinary travel and adventure stories with members of the community. Plus, they posted gear reviews that linked back to their products.
That multimedia strategy helped Huckberry’s blog gain consistent growth again. Plus, their YouTube channel took off — today, it boasts over 375K subscribers.
That video strategy made them adapt the way they present content on their blog as well.
Many posts include videos with gear reviews and style help. The videos are funny, personable, and mention the brand’s products without sounding like a sales pitch — it really sounds like two friends shooting the breeze.
The posts themselves also do a beautiful job of incorporating products:
Almost all their posts follow classic blog post templates, but maintain the vibe of a cool online magazine.
Key Lessons from Huckberry’s Blog
Huckberry’s key lesson is this: don’t give up after a traffic dip.
Blog traffic can dip for many different reasons, but it doesn’t mean your blog is a lost cause. When you see a dip, dig into the data.
Have you lost ranking on major keywords? Are clicks down? Run through a basic SEO checklist to make sure you’ve got your bases covered.
Then, go back to the question we’ve talked about before: What can you create that AI can’t replicate? Define how your blog is differentiated from what AI answers can deliver, and what value you can bring to your audience.
Your Ecommerce Blog Can Succeed — If You Trust the Process
You can’t build a successful ecommerce blog overnight. But the brands above prove it’s worth the effort.
When you do it right, your blog becomes more than a traffic source. It’s a growth engine that boosts visibility, builds trust, and strengthens your brand in both Google and AI search.
Keep answering your customers’ questions, stay focused on your niche, and build consistency over time.
But remember: your blog is just one piece of your overall strategy.
To go deeper into building a comprehensive marketing strategy for your ecommerce brand, check out our full ecommerce marketing guide.
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Instagram remains one of the most powerful platforms for growing a brand online.
With more than 2billion active users, Instagram marketing has long been a must if you’re in fashion, beauty, fitness, food, travel, or ecommerce. But it’s not just for visual-first industries anymore. Service businesses and B2B brands are winning here, too.
The catch? You can’t just post and hope for the best. To succeed on Instagram, you need to post the right content to stay relevant to current followers while bringing in new ones.
To grow, you need a smart content strategy and an understanding of how the algorithm works.
This guide will walk you through proven Instagram marketing tips to help you attract followers and drive engagement.
Key Takeaways
Instagram marketing works best when it’s intentional. Know your audience, post with purpose, and build content that connects rather than just fills a feed.
Consistency beats frequency. Three to five quality posts a week, backed by Reels and Stories, is often enough to stay visible and relevant.
Short-form video drives discovery. Reels and Stories remain the fastest way to reach new audiences and spark engagement.
Engagement fuels the algorithm. Comments, saves, and shares can carry more weight than likes, so encourage interaction and conversation.
Authenticity wins. From influencer partnerships to user-generated content, real voices and experiences build more trust than polished ads.
What Is Instagram Marketing?
Instagram marketing uses the platform’s creative tools and community reach to help brands build genuine connections and grow their business. At its best, it blends storytelling with strategy, with visuals to pull people in and a message that keeps them interested.
That 1-2 punch should be present in everything from organic posts and Stories to paid ads, influencer partnerships, product tagging, and more.
The payoff can be tremendous. After all, many of Instagram’s 2 billion users actually want to connect with businesses. More than 60 percent of those on Instagram use the platform to follow or research brands and products.
This makes Instagram a top channel for building brand awareness and showing off your products. It’s a platform for building real relationships with your audience.
You just need to know how to use it the right way.
Why Should Marketers Care About Instagram?
Instagram is now as much a discovery engine as it is a visual app.
Its audience spans every major demographic. Nearly 30 percent of users are 18 to 24, almost 32 percent are between 25 and 34, and engagement among users over 35 continues to grow.
In other words, your customers are already scrolling here.
And many search for products and recommendations directly in-app. That mix of scale and buyer intent makes it one of the best social platforms for brand awareness and conversions alike.
But there’s a bigger reason marketers should care: Search is changing.
AI-powered search models like Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT are increasingly pulling content from social platforms like Instagram to understand what’s relevant and credible. That means your brand’s Instagram presence can also strengthen your broader SEO and “search everywhere” strategy.
Even if you’re not ready to run full campaigns, Instagram gives you real-time feedback on what resonates. Watch how your audience engages, and use those insights to shape smarter content across every channel.
Unique Instagram Features for Marketing
Instagram gives marketers a full toolbox, and knowing which tool to use can make all the difference.
Posts are your foundation. They’re where your brand identity lives. Think of them as the grid that tells your story at a glance. Static images, carousels, and graphics still perform well when they’re cohesive and recognizable. Think of your feed as your brand’s first impression.
Stories add the real-time connection. They disappear after 24 hours (unless added as a highlight) but consistently drive some of the highest engagement on the platform. Brands use them for behind-the-scenes content, polls, quick updates, or product drops. These types of content feel personal and urgent.
Reels are Instagram’s growth engine. Short-form video gets prioritized in the algorithm and can extend your reach far beyond followers. Brands like Gymshark and Duolingo use Reels to blend education, entertainment, and personality into discoverable content that quickly builds awareness.
Livestreams are about interaction. They let you talk directly to your audience, host Q&As, or spotlight a new launch. The immediacy builds trust in a way that pre-edited content can’t.
Instagram Shop turns discovery into purchase. With product tags, collections, and integrated checkout, followers can go from seeing your post to buying in seconds.
Used together, these features create a seamless customer journey: discover, engage, convert.
How to Get Your Brand Started on Instagram
This may all sound great in theory, but how do you actually start marketing your brand on Instagram? We’ve got you covered.
Zero In on Your Target Audience on Instagram
Before you post anything, get crystal clear on who you want to reach with your Instagram marketing strategy (and why you’re on the platform in the first place). A more focused audience makes everything else easier, from your content strategy and captions to your hashtags and ad targeting.
Start by defining your ideal customer: age, interests, behaviors, and what kind of content grabs their attention. Then look at where your brand overlaps with that.
For example, Nike Running focuses on athletes chasing progress.
Glossier, on the other hand, speaks directly to beauty fans who love minimal, real-life aesthetics.
Both Nike and Glossier know exactly who they’re talking to, and it shows in everything they post.
When you understand your audience, you create relevance. And that’s the foundation of every successful Instagram marketing strategy.
Optimize Your Instagram Profile
Your Instagram profile is your brand’s first impression.
A complete, well-structured profile is a little like a digital business card. It helps followers (and Instagram’s algorithm) understand who you are and why you’re worth following.
Start by switching to a Business or Creator account. It unlocks analytics, contact buttons, and access to Meta’s ad tools. You’re going to need all that if you want to grow strategically.
Then, fill out every available field. Add your profile photo (ideally a recognizable logo or product image), and write a bio that clearly communicates what your brand offers and who it’s for. Short, specific, and benefit-driven wins every time.
You’ll also want to make sure to include:
Contact information: Include your physical address, email address, and phone number so followers can contact you directly. When you include this contact information, Instagram automatically builds related buttons (Call, Get Directions, Email).
Category or categories: These groupings appear as circular topics under your name and are a simple way to showcase what your brand is about. Check out our page to see how we do it.
Call-to-action buttons: You can tailor your buttons to your business offerings (like Book Now or Order Food) to allow visitors to take specific actions, like making an appointment or booking a reservation. To incorporate these buttons into your profile, select Edit profile and tap Action buttons.
Don’t skip the category tag under your name, either. It instantly tells visitors what industry you’re in. And if you have multiple offerings, use Story Highlights to organize them into quick-reference guides for new followers.
A complete profile signals professionalism, boosting the odds your content reaches the right audience.
Do Some Starter Keyword Research
You might associate keyword research mostly with Google, but it’s the foundation of visibility for Instagram marketing, too.
While the platform is built on visuals, discovery still happens through words—in captions, hashtags, and even alt text. That’s how Instagram decides what content to show in search and suggested feeds.
Start simple: Type topics related to your brand into the Instagram search bar.
The auto-suggestions you see? Those are real queries your audience is making right now. Take note of recurring terms and relevant hashtags with active engagement.
Getting a sense for the language your audience uses and weaving it naturally into your posts is how you win. You’ll show up in more searches and connect with people looking for what you offer.
Start Posting High-Quality Content
What you post (particularly how it looks) and how often you show up matter just as much as what you say.
On Instagram, your visual identity is your brand voice. Keep the colors you use, the tone of your images, and your captions consistent. Your feed is basically a digital storefront. Every post should look like it belongs there.
Color psychology still plays a major role. Specific colors trigger an emotional reaction in the viewer. When selecting a color palette for your Instagram posts, choose hues that embody your brand’s identity and message.
Drybar, for example, uses a consistent yellow-accent theme across posts, reinforcing brand identity with visual consistency.
Next, experiment with formats.
Standard image posts build brand identity, while Reels boost reach. Stories help you stay top of mind with daily updates, and carousels are great for educational or step-by-step content.
Your goal isn’t necessarily to use every format. It’s more important to focus on the ones that fit your brand’s style and message.
Then there’s timing. Consistency often beats volume. A predictable cadence (say, three to five posts per week) trains both the algorithm and your audience to expect you.
Finally, use hashtags and keywords strategically. Three to five specific, niche hashtags usually outperform generic ones.
The same goes for captions. Natural language that your audience would search for is the way to go. Don’t get too wrapped up in buzzwords.
Remember: Every post reinforces who you are and why you matter to your audience.
Engage With Followers
Everyone wants to be heard, and your Instagram followers are no different. So, ensure they know you hear and appreciate them by liking their posts and replying to their comments.
Every comment, message, and tag is an opportunity to build trust. And trust fuels growth on Instagram.
Start by responding to comments and DMs quickly. It shows your audience there’s a real person behind the brand. You can also use interactive features like polls, Q&As, and emoji sliders in Stories to invite two-way conversations.
Reply to comments on your Reels, reshare user-generated content (UGC), and tag followers or partners when it fits naturally.
Brands like Supergoop and Alo Yoga do this well. They answer questions in comments, repost community photos, and encourage followers to tag friends who’d love the product.
Today, engagement is as much about connection as it is visibility. The more you show up for your audience, the more likely they are to engage and keep you in their feed.
Track Your Analytics
Instagram has some pretty comprehensive analytics that lets you gain both a bird’s-eye view of your performance and a granular view.
Start with Instagram Insights, available for all Business and Creator accounts. You’ll see metrics like reach, impressions, profile visits, and website clicks. These tell you how far your content travels and how effectively your Instagram marketing efforts drive action.
Reach and Impressions: Show how many unique users saw your content and how often. A spike can signal that a post hit the right tone or format.
Engagement: Likes, comments, shares, saves, and Reels interactions show what truly resonates. Saves, in particular, are a sign of high-value content.
Conversions: Use UTM links or Meta Business Suite to track traffic, leads, and sales coming from your Instagram content or ads.
For deeper analysis, tools like Sprout Social, Later, or Hootsuite give you expanded reporting and trend tracking over time.
Don’t just collect data for the sake of collecting it. Put it to good use.
If a certain post drives unusually high engagement, study the caption, image style, or timing. Apply those insights to your next batch of content.
Tracking consistently turns your strategy from guesswork into a growth engine.
Top Tips for Instagram Marketing
With billions of active users, Instagram is a major platform for businesses to market their products and services. However, it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd with so many brands vying for attention.
If you need help getting started, here are our top tips for marketing on Instagram.
1. Run Competitive Research
Even if you’re not currently using Instagram marketing as a strategy, your competitors most likely are.
Start by identifying three to five brands in your niche with active accounts and solid engagement.
Look at what and how often they’re posting and which formats (Reels, carousels, Stories) get the most traction. Notice the tone of their captions, how they respond to comments, and what hashtags they consistently use.
Tools like Sprout Social, Later, or even Instagram’s built-in dashboard can help you track competitor activity and spot trends over time.
2. Post Product Teasers That Will (Gently) Urge People to Buy
What if you could sell more products by posting product teasers on Instagram?
Well, you can.
Instagram is a great place to advertise your products. And if you play your cards right, you won’t annoy or scare users off with advertisements.
The trick is subtlety.
If you’re too pushy, followers will drop like flies. However, product teaser posts are a simple way to spark curiosity without looking like you’re trying too hard.
This works in almost any industry. For example, Starbucks teases its audience by promoting seasonal drinks with sharp imagery without trying to force people to buy them.
When you tease products people are interested in and don’t push them into buying anything, they’ll be more likely to pull the trigger and buy something.
If not, they might at least engage with your post by liking it, commenting on it, or sharing it with a friend.
A good product teaser shows just enough to make people want more. Use strong visuals or behind-the-scenes clips to highlight what makes your product unique without spelling everything out.
So, don’t be afraid to show off the goods by posting product photos. Just do it gently.
3. Practice Instagram SEO to Optimize Your Posts
Instagram has quietly become a search engine of its own. Besides scrolling, people search for content, products, and creators using keywords, hashtags, and topics.
Start by weaving the keywords you found earlier into your captions, alt text, and on-screen text in Reels. Instagram now indexes these areas, which means using natural, descriptive language helps your content show up in relevant searches.
Your username, display name, and bio also play a role. Make sure they clearly reflect your brand and niche. For example, “@JessiesVeganBakery” will always outrank “@JVBakes” for a user searching “vegan bakery.”
Avoid keyword stuffing, but do post with intent. If your audience can search it, say it.
4. Create Sponsored Ads
Instagram ads give brands the reach and precision targeting to get in front of exactly the right audience, even if they don’t follow you yet.
Using Ads Manager, you can run campaigns across feed posts, Reels, and Stories, each tailored to different goals like awareness, traffic, or conversions. Reel ads in particular perform well right now, thanks to high engagement and seamless integration into organic content.
You can start small by boosting your top-performing posts to test which visuals and messages resonate most.
Once you see what works, scale those efforts with targeted campaigns using custom or lookalike audiences.
Focus on clean visuals, short captions, and strong calls to action that feel natural in the feed.
And don’t forget your analytics. Performance data from your ads is a goldmine for refining your content and organic strategy.
Reels help you get discovered. They’re Instagram’s most visible format, with strong algorithmic push and viral potential. Use them in your Instagram marketing strategy to educate, entertain, or inspire. Quick how-tos, behind-the-scenes clips, or shareable tips work especially well.
Stories keep your audience close. They disappear fast, which makes them perfect for time-sensitive content like product launches, polls, or limited-time offers.
The key to success is consistency and repurposing. A single short video can live as a Reel, a Story, a YouTube Short, and even a LinkedIn post.
Keep videos under 30 seconds, add captions for sound-off viewing, and use on-screen text or stickers to guide attention.
6. Partner With Influencers for a Wider Reach
The fastest way to reach potential customers on Instagram is through influencers who already have a large following.
Many people will buy services or products based on what they see in their feeds from the influential people they follow. They trust them.
You don’t need a celebrity or a million followers to make an impact. Nano- or micro-influencers (creators with smaller but more engaged audiences), for example, can be effective because their recommendations feel personal and real.
For instance, La Croix runs campaigns with micro-influencers who post genuine lifestyle content using their product. These smaller creators drive engaged, niche audiences.
The first step is identifying a few influencers with an audience relevant to your product or service. Look for creators who genuinely align with your brand values and audience.
Study how they engage. Are followers commenting, saving, and sharing? That’s the kind of credibility you want to borrow.
Once you’ve found a match, build a relationship, not a one-off post. Offer creative freedom so influencers can present your product in their own voice. That authenticity performs better than scripted ads.
7. Come Up With an Interactive Branded Hashtag
If you want instant engagement, interactive hashtags are a great way to get it.
Customers can then use the tag to post user-generated content. This allows users to search through all posts relating to your brand.
It also lets you easily search through images you might want to consider reposting on your page.
Creating a hashtag that your company (and other users) can search for is essentially free advertising.
Whenever someone posts a photo using the tag, they expose your company to their followers.
Campaigns like #ShotOniPhone (Apple), which has netted more than 31 million posts, show how branded hashtags can extend far beyond a single promotion.
They create recognition and give fans a sense of belonging.
8. Post at The Right Times (and Don’t Over-Post)
Posting at the right time on Instagram matters. However, over-posting is a surefire way to turn off your existing followers.
If all they see is your brand on their news feed, they will probably unfollow you as fast as possible.
However, you want to post consistently to stay in their news feed regularly. One of the best ways to do this is to only post during peak days and hours when your followers are online.
Recent studies from Later and Sprout Social all point to a similar pattern: Engagement peaks mid-morning to early afternoon, Tuesday through Thursday.
Specifically, Later’s 2025 data shows strong performance between 7–9 a.m. and 11 a.m.–1 p.m., while Sprout Social finds Tuesdays to Thursdays, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. to be the sweet spot.
That said, those are benchmarks, not rules. Use Instagram Insights to see when your followers are most active and schedule posts accordingly.
Aim for three to five posts per week, focusing on quality and rhythm. If you’ve got more to share, batch content into carousels or Stories instead of pushing out multiple posts in a row.
Consistency beats frequency every time. Post when it matters, not just because you can.
9. Use User-Generated Content
People trust people more than brands. That’s why user-generated content is one of the most powerful tools in Instagram marketing.
When customers post real photos or videos of your product, they’re giving you social proof money can’t buy. Reposting that content on your feed or Stories builds community and credibility (and helps fill your content calendar).
To encourage UGC, ask followers to share how they use your product with a branded hashtag or tag your account directly. Feature their posts regularly and give credit in captions or Stories. That recognition goes a long way.
Even smaller brands can replicate GoPro’s approach. All it takes is a clear ask and consistent engagement.
10. Build Strong Captions
A great photo or Reel grabs attention, but your caption keeps it.
Captions are where your brand voice comes through. They add context, personality, and a reason for people to engage. The best captions feel natural, not scripted.
Write like you’re talking to a friend, not broadcasting to a crowd.
Start with a strong first line. It’s what shows before the “See more” cutoff. Use it to spark emotion or action. Then add value: Tell a quick story or ask a question that invites responses.
Short captions (under 125 characters) tend to perform better for quick-scrolling users, but don’t be afraid of longer ones when you’re telling a meaningful story. Just keep the tone consistent and conversational.
End with a clear next step—a question, call-to-action, or tag—to turn engagement into connection.
On Instagram, your visuals stop the scroll, but your captions build the relationship.
11. Got Products In Your Content? Tag Them
Instagram marketing has evolved into a full shopping experience, where users can tap a tag, view pricing and details, and buy directly from your post or via your website.
That’s frictionless marketing.
Product tags help your content reach new customers through Instagram’s Shop tab, search, and recommendations, and they also make it easier to track conversions from your posts.
You can tag products in photos, carousels, Reels, and even Stories, linking them to your catalog in Commerce Manager. When paired with influencer or creator posts, product tags create a powerful, connected path from discovery to purchase.
Tagging products turns your organic content into a storefront.
At its core, the algorithm rewards relevance and interaction. It looks at how users behave—what they like, comment on, save, and share—then prioritizes similar content in their feed, Stories, and Reels tabs.
The biggest ranking signals are:
Engagement quality: Saves, shares, and comments weigh more than likes.
Consistency: Accounts that post regularly stay visible.
Relationships: Content from people or brands users interact with most appears first.
Format variety: Using Reels, Stories, and carousels helps signal an active, valuable account.
To work with the algorithm, focus on genuine engagement over volume. Encourage conversation, use relevant hashtags and keywords, and post when your audience is most active.
13. Keep Track of New Updates and Features
Instagram never stops evolving.
The biggest changes on the platform revolve around AI and personalization.
Instagram is testing AI content recommendations that surface posts based on visual themes, tone, and engagement signals, not just hashtags. That means smart captioning, keyword use, and audience insights are more important than ever.
You’ll also see new tools for creators and brands, like AI-generated captions and image editing, expanded product tagging for Reels, and enhanced analytics dashboards that show cross-platform performance.
The platform’s Creator marketplace has also expanded, making influencer partnerships easier to manage directly within Instagram. That’s a huge win for brands running multiple campaigns.
The key is to experiment early. Every new feature gives you a short-term visibility boost while competitors lag behind. Keep an eye on the Meta for Business blog or @creators account. Both regularly preview what’s coming next.
FAQs
What is Instagram marketing?
Instagram marketing is the use of the platform’s tools, features, and content formats to build awareness, connect with customers, and drive sales. It includes everything from organic content (photos, Reels, and Stories) to paid campaigns, influencer partnerships, and user-generated content.
How do I market on Instagram?
Whether you’re a global brand or a local small business, Instagram gives you space to grow your audience and drive real results. Here’s where to start:
Boost what’s working: Promote high-performing posts to reach more of your target audience.
Switch to a Business or Creator account: This unlocks analytics, ads, and call-to-action buttons.
Optimize your profile: Include a clear bio, branded visuals, and a link to your site or store.
Start posting consistently: Mix images, Reels, and Stories to see what connects best.
Engage your community: Respond to comments, run polls, and encourage user-generated content.
Is Instagram marketing effective?
Instagram marketing can be incredibly effective when done correctly. Instagram remains one of the highest-performing social platforms for engagement and return on investment (ROI). According to Sprout Social’s 2025 report, 29 percent of consumers make purchases on Instagram, and Instagram came in second at 22 percent of marketers reporting it as the highest-ROI social channel.
Conclusion
While wading into the world of social media marketing may seem overwhelming, employing these Instagram marketing tips makes your descent simple.
As you grow your following and interact with your target audience, be sure to keep an eye on your metrics. Look at what’s available from the app itself and those from external platforms like Google Analytics.
From there, double down on what works and adjust quickly when things change, because they always do. If you need help scaling, consider partnering with Instagram marketing agencies that specialize in strategy, content, and growth.
That’s a lot of eyes. And it’s why your YouTube marketing strategy matters.
Think about it. Searchers often click video first for “how to,” reviews, and comparisons. If your video answers the question clearly, you win two placements (on YouTube AND Google) with one asset.
That search role matters more now. Google results and AI Overviews are citing YouTube videos far more often. That means the right video can earn visibility on YouTube and in Google’s AI-enhanced results.
Here’s how to take advantage of YouTube’s massive reach and growing role in search.
Key Takeaways
YouTube is still a search engine first. Optimize every video like a web page. Titles, keywords, and descriptions all matter.
Short-form video drives discovery. Use Shorts to grab attention and push viewers toward your long-form content.
Consistency beats virality. One great upload won’t build your channel, but showing up weekly will.
Engagement fuels growth. Comments, likes, and watch time tell YouTube your content deserves more reach.
Cross-promotion multiplies exposure. Share clips across LinkedIn, Instagram, and email to spark early momentum and feed the algorithm.
Why Market on YouTube?
Short-form video is where attention stacks up right now.
More than 120 million people watch YouTube every day. That’s reach you can’t ignore.
It also fits how people search. Viewers type questions into the platform, often searching for product comparisons or “how-to” content. That’s the magic of YouTube marketing: Your video can rank on YouTube and, increasingly, get pulled into Google’s AI results.
The numbers are staggering. Total YouTube citations are up more than 400 percent in AI Overviews alone, per Ubersuggest data.
Shorts adds even more surface area. YouTube confirmed 200 billion daily Shorts views in 2025. That’s a firehose of discovery for quick tutorials, comparisons, and teasers that push to deeper content.
And it’s accessible. You don’t need a studio. A phone, a clear topic, and tight editing are enough to compete in most niches.
Start with one Shorts series and one weekly long-form video. Just be sure to use chapters as well as strong titles and descriptions that read like answers. Steer clear of slogans.
You’ll find everything from tech reviews and finance breakdowns to ASMR and speed cleaning. There’s even a channel about a lawyer who picks locks.
With that much competition, your YouTube marketing strategy has to start with clarity: who you’re talking to, what kind of content they actually want, and where you can add something different.
That means:
Pinpointing your target audience.
Choosing the video formats that match their attention span.
Studying competitors to see what’s working and where the gaps are.
Once you know your lane, everything else—your topics, cadence, and growth plan—gets a whole lot easier.
Figure Out Your Target Audience on YouTube
YouTube is too big to win by going broad. “Everyone” isn’t an audience. The sweet spot is finding a niche that’s specific enough to stand out but big enough to grow.
Start with who already buys from you. Look at your website analytics and social media insights to see who’s engaging most.
Age, interests, and location all help. Tools like Google Analytics and YouTube Studio can show you what your current audience searches for and watches next.
Then, build a quick buyer persona:
Who are they? (job title, interests, pain points)
What do they search on YouTube?
When and how do they watch? On desktop, mobile, or TV?
What tone or style do they respond to?
Once you define that persona, brainstorm content they’d actually click. If your viewers are marketing managers, short “how-to” clips might work better than 20-minute explainers.
You don’t need to reach everyone, just the right people often enough that YouTube’s algorithm starts recognizing your audience and recommending your videos to more like them.
See the Types of Videos Your Target Audience Likes
It’s not enough to know who your target audience is. You need to understand what kind of videos they like to watch. There are hundreds of different types of videos on YouTube:
Start by checking what’s already working in your niche. Search your main keywords on YouTube and filter by “Most Viewed.” Make note of formats that dominate the results:
How-to tutorials: Great for education-driven niches.
Explainer videos: Ideal if you sell products or software.
Case studies or success stories: Perfect for B2B audiences.
Listicles and tips videos: Work well for lifestyle and marketing content.
Shorts: YouTube’s fastest-growing format, great for quick insights, teasers, or trends.
Livestreams: Build community and drive real-time engagement.
Use YouTube Analytics to compare your own watch times, click-through rates (CTR), and retention graphs. You can also plug your top-performing videos into Ubersuggest and use the Content Ideas tool to see related topics gaining traction.
Don’t settle for just copying what’s popular. The goal is to spot patterns in what your audience values, and then make those formats your own.
People love short-form content because it’s fast, visual, and snackable. They can learn something, laugh, or get inspired in under a minute. For brands, that’s a huge opportunity to build awareness and trust without needing a big budget.
Use Shorts to highlight quick takeaways, answer common questions, or tease a longer video. Think of them as “trailers” for your main content.
Repurpose what you already have:
Cut 15- to 60-second clips from your best-performing videos.
Turn customer quotes or stats into vertical video slides.
Use one key insight per clip. Don’t cram in too much.
Shorts also travel well. You can cross-post them to Instagram Reels, TikTok, and LinkedIn to expand your reach without doubling your workload.
Start small, stay consistent, and you’ll see which ideas hook your audience fastest.
Check Up on Your Competition
You’re not creating in a vacuum. Every niche on YouTube already has leaders. Studying them is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your YouTube marketing strategy.
Start by searching your main keywords and noting who consistently ranks on the first page. Those are your real competitors.
Then use tools like vidIQ or TubeBuddy to see what’s driving their performance. Pay particular attention to metrics like average views per video, upload frequency, engagement rate, and keyword use.
Go beyond views, too:
What video formats do they use most? Tutorials, reviews, Shorts?
How do they open and end each video?
What topics or questions show up repeatedly in their comments?
Your goal isn’t to find the gaps. If competitors focus on broad topics, go deeper. If they post irregularly, show up consistently.
Learn the playbook, then rewrite it in your own voice.
Part 2: Create A Great Channel Layout and Organize Your YouTube Content
First impressions matter.
When people land on your channel, they should instantly know who you are, what you talk about, and why they should subscribe.
My value proposition and color scheme are simple and match my website. The banner says how often I publish new videos. My trailer is like an extension of the value prop.
A clean, consistent channel layout builds trust fast.
Start with a short trailer that introduces your niche and what viewers can expect from you. Use a simple banner that matches your website’s look and feel, and make sure your “About” section includes a clear description, publishing cadence, and links to your website or lead magnets.
Group your videos into playlists organized by topic or intent, by tutorials, product demos, case studies, or Shorts, for example. Playlists help with binge-watching and signal YouTube that your content fits together, which improves discoverability.
The goal is to make your channel feel like a well-organized library, not a random drop box of uploads.
Next, I’ll show you how to plan your upload schedule and design thumbnails that get clicks.
Create Regular YouTube Content With a Content Calendar
A good posting rhythm might be one long-form video per week and two to three Shorts. That balance keeps your channel active without burning you out.
A content calendar helps you make that consistency sustainable. Tools like Notion, Trello, or Google Sheets work fine for scheduling.
Plan your topics by theme (e.g., SEO tips one week, case studies the next) and map your filming and editing days so uploads never sneak up on you.
Track ideas that come from your comments or analytics. If a video starts outperforming, use it as a springboard for spinoff Shorts or deeper follow-ups.
Think of your calendar as a publishing system and pillar of your overall content marketing strategy. It keeps you accountable and makes sure every video ladders back to your larger YouTube marketing strategy.
Design the Right YouTube Thumbnails
Your thumbnail is the visual hook. It’s what earns the click.
Today’s best-performing thumbnails are simple, bold, and emotionally clear.
Avoid clutter and heavy text.
Focus on one focal point: a face, an object, or a clear action shot.
Add minimal copy (four words or fewer) that reinforces the video title rather than repeating it.
Bright, high-contrast colors still grab attention, but brand consistency matters more. Stick to the same font, color palette, and framing so viewers instantly recognize your channel.
Use visual contrast. Use a light subject and dark background (or the reverse).
Keep it honest. Don’t mislead viewers with clickbait. You’ll hurt retention and trust.
Design mobile-first.Nearly 70 percent of views happen on phones, so test how your thumbnails look small. According to NP Digital, B2C content gets nearly 60 percent of views on mobile, with just under 50 percent for B2B content.
Tools like Canva and Figma make quick testing easy. Create two to three versions, check CTR in YouTube Studio, and double down on what performs.
The good news? You can still rank high without ads if you know how to optimize your videos for search.
In this section, we’ll cover the basics, like how to research keywords, write clickable titles and descriptions, and structure your videos for discoverability.
If you want a deeper dive into the full process, check out my full guide on YouTube SEO.
Keyword Research on YouTube
Every strong YouTube SEO strategy starts with keyword research. You can’t optimize what you haven’t defined.
Look for keywords your audience is already searching for. Tools like Ubersuggest, TubeBuddy, and vidIQ can show search volume, competition level, and related keyword ideas directly from YouTube data.
So, focus on “how to,” “best,” “tutorial,” and “review” phrases. They’re gold because they match how users search when they’re ready to learn or buy.
Writing Great Descriptions
Your description is prime SEO real estate. YouTube gives you 5,000 characters to work with. Use it.
Start strong. Mention your focus keyword in the first 25 words and naturally repeat it two or three times throughout. Use short paragraphs or bullet points so it’s easy to skim.
Structure your description like this:
Hook: One or two sentences that summarize the value of the video.
Context: Expand on the topic, naturally using keywords.
Next steps: Include links to related videos, your website, or lead magnets.
Add timestamps for long-form videos and external links above the fold (before the “Show More” cutoff).
Above all, don’t keyword stuff. Write like you’re helping a person, not an algorithm. The algorithm will notice anyway.
How to Write a Great YouTube Title
This is one area you cannot ignore. Even if your content is great, it won’t matter if you can’t get people to actually click on your video in the first place.
A strong title can make or break your video’s performance. You only get about 50 to 55 visible characters on desktop, so every word counts.
Good titles combine clarity, curiosity, and keywords. For example:
“SEO for Beginners: 5 Fast Ways to Rank Higher on Google”
“I Tried YouTube Shorts for 30 Days. Here’s What Happened”
Keep it natural, and don’t force full keyword phrases if they sound robotic. Use parentheses or numbers to add clarity:
“Email Marketing Tips (That Actually Work in 2025)”
“Top 10 Tools for Video Editors”
Business Insider does a solid job of writing concise, compelling (and clickable) titles:
Avoid ALL CAPS or excessive punctuation. It reads like spam.
Pair your title with a strong thumbnail so the story connects visually. YouTube reads that combination as a signal of quality and relevance.
Add Closed Captions and Transcripts on Videos
Captions do more than make your videos accessible. They make them searchable.
When you upload closed captions or full transcripts, YouTube indexes that text. That means every word in your video becomes a keyword opportunity.
Turn on auto-captioning, but always edit the results for accuracy. If you already have a script, upload it as a transcript to save time.
Bonus: Captions help with international reach. You can upload translated subtitles for new audiences without creating new videos.
Think of captions as the hidden SEO layer that boosts both accessibility and discoverability.
Use YouTube Tags
Tags used to carry major weight in YouTube SEO; now, they play a smaller but still useful role.
Use tags to help YouTube understand your video’s context, especially if your topic has alternate spellings or similar keywords.
Start with 5 to 8 targeted tags, mixing broad and long-tail terms. For example:
“Video marketing”
“YouTube marketing strategy”
“How to grow on YouTube in 2025”
Avoid adding dozens of unrelated tags, as it can dilute your relevance score.
Drive Likes, Comments and Subscriptions
Engagement is fuel for the YouTube algorithm. When people like, comment, and subscribe, YouTube sees your content as valuable and pushes it to more viewers.
But don’t just say, “Like and subscribe.” Give people a reason. For example:
Ask a question mid-video to prompt comments.
Add a simple end-screen with a subscribe CTA.
Thank viewers for specific feedback in your next upload.
Subscriptions signal trust, comments signal community, and likes signal quality. Each tells YouTube, “This video was worth watching.”
Track engagement in YouTube Studio, and use those patterns to adjust your intros, pacing, and calls to action (CTAs).
Part 4: How to Produce a Great YouTube Video
Every strategy we’ve talked about so far leads here: the video itself. Your titles, thumbnails, and descriptions only work if the video delivers real value and keeps people watching.
Think of this section as the engine behind your YouTube marketing strategy. It’s where ideas turn into content that earns retention, watch time, and trust—the three metrics that drive long-term growth.
Let’s break down how to build better videos from script to finish: how to structure your story, hold attention, and guide viewers to take the next step.
Build Your Video Script
You don’t need a Hollywood script, but you do need a plan. Even spontaneous creators outline what they’ll say before hitting record.
A good YouTube script keeps your message tight, your pacing smooth, and your delivery confident. An outline like this is a good starting point:
Hook (0-10 seconds): Why this topic matters now.
Setup: What you’ll cover and what viewers will get from it.
Main content: Teach, demonstrate, or share insight clearly.
CTA: What to do next. That might be to watch, subscribe, or click a resource.
Write in your speaking voice. In other words, lean into short sentences and natural pauses.
The best videos feel conversational but stay focused. Always come back to why your audience should care. If a line doesn’t serve that, cut it.
Pro tip: record a test run. If your energy dips or you ramble, your audience will, too.
Create a Great Opening and Sustain Viewer Attention
So, start fast. Skip the long intro slides or slow fades. Jump straight into the payoff: the problem you’re solving or the question you’re answering.
Great openings often share three traits:
Strong hook: Lead with curiosity or a bold promise.
Visual movement: Add a quick cut, prop, or change in camera angle early.
Context: Tell them what they’ll learn and why it matters, quickly.
A good example is my video titled “How to Master Social Media in 2025.”
Here, I:
Lead with the outcome (“Master Social Media in 2025”), not just the topic.
Open with quick b-roll of trending social platforms before it cuts to me on camera; the motion and pattern change instantly catches the eye.
Establish relevancy and immediacy within the first few seconds.
In your videos, keep the momentum with pattern shifts every 15 to 20 seconds: zooms, graphics, or scene changes.
An average view duration of 50-60 percent is considered good, while anything above 70 percent is considered excellent. Hitting at least that 50 percent mark is key to YouTube continuing to push your video to new audiences.
Create Calls to Actions Through Info Cards and End Screens
A video without a next step is a dead end.
Use info cards and end screens to guide viewers while attention is still high.
Info cards: Add mid-video links to related videos or playlists. Drop them right after a key insight, not randomly.
End screens: Use the last 20 seconds to point to one next video, a playlist, or a subscribe button, but never all three.
Keep CTAs natural. Instead of “Please subscribe,” try, “If this helped, you’ll love my next video on [topic]. It’s linked right here.”
These small nudges turn casual viewers into repeat watchers and subscribers, which boosts session time. And that’s one of the biggest ranking signals in YouTube’s algorithm.
Part 5: Promoting Your YouTube Channel
YouTube’s recommendation system drives most discovery, but it’s not magic. You still have to push your videos into the world.
Cross-promotion works best when each post feels native to the platform. Don’t treat it like a copy-paste link dump.
Cross-Promote With Other Channels
Collaborations are the fastest way to borrow trust. Find channels with overlapping but not identical audiences. In other words, look for similar topics or complementary angles.
Start by searching your niche keywords and filtering by upload date to spot active creators. Tools like Social Blade can reveal engagement and audience size before you reach out.
Pitch collaborations that add value to both sides:
Co-host a live Q&A or short challenge.
Swap “guest clips” where each creator adds one insight to the other’s video.
Build a joint playlist that benefits both channels’ discovery.
When you collaborate, you tap into built-in credibility. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to introduce your content to qualified viewers.
Consider Influencer Marketing
One of the fastest ways to grow a YouTube channel is to borrow someone else’s audience.
You don’t need to work with A-list creators to see results. In fact, micro-influencers often drive better engagement than large creators. Their audiences feel more connected, which means more real traffic for you.
Start by looking for creators in your niche who share your target audience but don’t post the same type of content.
If you teach SEO, partner with a design or copywriting channel. You’ll both reach new viewers without stepping on each other’s toes.
Collaboration videos still work great. Film a challenge, swap expert tips, or make a guest appearance on each other’s channels. Just make sure the partnership feels natural and mutually beneficial. Forced collabs turn viewers off.
As your channel grows, return the favor. Supporting smaller creators builds goodwill and can bring you some of the most loyal fans you’ll ever get.
Build a Community on YouTube By Engaging With Your Audience
Community is what turns viewers into advocates.
Reply to comments within the first hour of posting. It boosts engagement signals and shows you’re active. Use the Community tab to post polls, updates, or behind-the-scenes thoughts between uploads.
Other smart plays:
Host live streams or ask-me-anythings (AMAs) to build real-time interaction.
Shout out viewer ideas or feedback in future videos.
Ask your audience for input on new topics or titles.
Channels with active comment threads and regular audience participation tend to hold viewers longer. Engagement sends a strong signal to YouTube that your content is resonating, which helps videos appear more often in recommendations.
Your videos start the conversation that your community keeps going.
Part 6: YouTube Marketing Tools
Even great ideas fall flat without the right setup.
The good news?
You don’t need a production studio to run a professional channel. But you do need the right stack of tools.
Start with video creation and editing.
Descript lets you edit videos by editing text. It’s perfect for quick cuts, captions, and repurposing clips for Shorts or LinkedIn.
CapCut and Premiere Rush are ideal for mobile and social-first editing, simple, fast, and powerful enough for branded content.
If you’re producing tutorials, tools like Loom or ScreenPal (formerly Screencast-O-Matic) make screen recording easy.
Next, focus on optimization.
TubeBuddy and vidIQ plug directly into YouTube Studio to help with keyword suggestions, tag ideas, A/B testing for thumbnails, and SEO checklists.
Canva streamlines thumbnail design with preset YouTube templates and brand color kits.
For analytics, lean on data:
YouTube Studio gives detailed retention graphs and click-through data, but pair it with Ubersuggest or Google Analytics to see how YouTube traffic flows to your website.
Tools like Social Blade let you benchmark against competitors and spot growth trends.
Part 7: YouTube Paid Advertising
Organic reach takes time, but YouTube ads can fast-track visibility when done right. Paid campaigns let you target by audience, topic, and intent. That way, your content reaches the people most likely to act.
Let’s break down the core ad types and how to make them work.
Understand the Main YouTube Ad Formats
YouTube offers several ad options, but these three drive the most results for marketers:
Skippable in-stream ads: Appear before or during videos. Viewers can skip after five seconds, so make your hook count. The first line and first visual should tell them why to keep watching.
Non-skippable in-stream ads: Capped at 15 seconds; best for brand awareness or quick product demos.
In-feed video ads: Show up in search results and “related videos” sections. These work like organic videos, ideal for promoting tutorials or long-form educational content.
Best Practices for YouTube Ad Success
Hook immediately. Your first five seconds decide everything. Lead with a visual or statement that grabs attention.
Target precisely. Use audience segments—custom intent, remarketing lists, or lookalike audiences—to reach people ready to buy.
Keep it short and focused. Under 30 seconds is best for direct-response goals; longer formats work for storytelling or education.
Add a clear CTA. Whether it’s “Learn More,” “Subscribe,” or “Shop Now,” make it obvious and actionable.
Test variations. Run A/B tests on thumbnails, headlines, and CTAs. Even small tweaks can double performance.
Pairing paid ads with your organic content strategy multiplies reach. You build awareness fast and nurture those viewers with helpful videos afterward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best strategy for YouTube?
The best YouTube strategy starts with clarity. Know exactly who you’re creating for and what value you bring. Focus on consistent uploads, strong storytelling, and search-optimized titles and descriptions. Promote your videos across other channels, collaborate with related creators, and use analytics to refine what’s working. When your content and audience focus align, growth follows.
How to grow your YouTube channel?
Growth comes from momentum. Post regularly (at least once a week), engage with your community, and optimize each video for SEO. Create a mix of long-form and short-form content, and always include clear calls to action that turn viewers into subscribers. Collaborate with other creators to tap into new audiences and expand reach faster.
How do you attract subscribers on YouTube?
Creating highly engaging videos is the first step to attracting subscribers. But you also need to write great titles and descriptions, work hard to promote your videos, and collaborate with other YouTubers to raise brand awareness.
How to gain subscribers on YouTube?
Viewers subscribe when they trust your content and know what to expect. Make your videos clear, consistent, and valuable from the start. End each one with a reason to subscribe, like “new videos every Tuesday” or “more quick tips coming next.” Reply to comments, mention loyal fans in videos, and use playlists to keep new viewers watching longer.
What is the best content to create on YouTube?
The best content teaches, entertains, or solves a problem—ideally, all three. Tutorials, reviews, and “how-to” videos tend to perform best, especially when tied to specific search intent. Short-form videos (YouTube Shorts) are perfect for quick tips and discovery, while longer videos build authority and watch time. Test formats, watch your analytics, and double down on what your audience finishes watching.
Conclusion
Congrats on making it through this full YouTube marketing guide. Now you’re set to become the next YouTube star.
Start small, stay consistent, and focus on value over virality. Every upload teaches you something about your target audience and sharpens your message.
So grab your camera and get your ideas out there. Your next great video could be the one that changes everything.
You might not see huge traction after your first video, and that’s okay. Keep showing up with quality, purpose, and a plan. Over time, those small wins compound into serious momentum.
Google announced the release of its latest AI model update, Gemini 3. “And now we’re introducing Gemini 3, our most intelligent model, that combines all of Gemini’s capabilities together so you can bring any idea to life,” Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai wrote.
Gemini 3 is now being used in AI Mode in Search with more complex reasoning and new dynamic experiences. “This is the first time we are shipping Gemini in Search on day one,” Sundar Pichai said.
AI Mode with Gemini 3. Google shared how AI Mode in Search is now using Gemini 3 to enable new generative UI experiences like immersive visual layouts and interactive tools and simulations, all generated completely on the fly based on your query.
Here is a video of showing how RNA polymerase works with generative UI in AI Mode in Search.
“In Search, Gemini 3 with generative layouts will make it easy to get a rich understanding of anything on your mind. It has state-of-the-art reasoning, deep multimodal understanding and advanced agentic capabilities. That allows the model to shine when you ask it to explain advanced concepts or ideas – it reasons and can code interactive visuals in real-time. It can tackle your toughest questions like advanced science.”
More Gemini 3. Google added that Gemini 3 has:
State-of-the-art reasoning
Deep multimodal understanding
Powerful vibe coding so you can go from prompt to app in one shot
Improved agentic capabilities, so it can get things done on your behalf, at your direction
Availability. Gemini 3 is now rolling out, yes, in AI Mode but here also:
For everyone in the Gemini app and for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in AI Mode in Search
For developers in the Gemini API in AI Studio, our new agentic development platform, Google Antigravity; and Gemini CLI
For enterprises in Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise
Why we care. Gemini 3 is currently powering AI Mode, the future of Google Search. It will continue to power more and more search features within Google, as well as other areas within Google’s platforms.
Being on top of these changes and how they impact search and your site and maybe Google Ads is important.
Ask the same question in 11 AI search engines, and you’ll get 11 different answers.
Sometimes wildly different.
Some engines focus on visuals and shoppable results. Others go deep into research. A few just try to get you an answer, fast.
Each platform prioritizes and presents it differently.
And those differences matter.
Not just for users, but for brands trying to get discovered in AI search.
So, I tested popular and lesser-known AI engines on accuracy, depth, user experience, and other factors.
Only four made the cut.
In this guide, you’ll learn which AI search engines came out on top, including pros, cons, and pricing. I’ll also share which engines didn’t make my list, and why.
Along the way, you’ll get a few tips on using these insights to improve your AI visibility.
Start with a quick overview of my findings below. Or jump straight to the #1 AI search engine on my list: ChatGPT.
What Are the Best AI Search Engines?
Tool
Best for
Pros
Cons
Price
ChatGPT
Comprehensive research and shoppable product comparisons
Visual layout with tables and images; remembers context across follow-ups; direct purchase links
Overwhelming results for broad queries; accuracy issues; overly agreeable
Free or $20+/month
Google AI Mode
Quick product searches with real buyer reviews
Fast product results with pricing and reviews; integrates Google ecosystem
Vague on informational queries; no comparison tables; unavailable in some regions
Free
Sigma Chat (Formerly Bagoodex)
Research deep dives that build on previous questions
Weak product presentation; no pricing or buy links; poor visuals
Free or $10+/month
Microsoft Copilot
Fast answers in clean, skimmable formats
Clean categorization; fast responses; easy to skim
Surface-level depth; no product links; weak for shopping
Free
How I Tested 11 AI Search Engines
To keep things consistent, I ran the same set of prompts across 11 AI search tools.
Note: For this article, I defined “AI search engine” as any generative AI platform that can understand queries, pull information from sources, and deliver answers in natural language.
This included big names like ChatGPT, AI Mode, and Perplexity.
And newer players like Arc, Andi, and Sigma Chat.
I focused on one topic (running shoes) and tested a range of prompts across different search intents.
This showed how well each engine handled the full customer journey, from research to shopping.
This included:
“Best running shoes”: Assesses top-level recommendations and how each engine handles broad prompts
“Best running shoes for beginner marathon training”: Evaluates personalization and context handling as the prompt narrows
“How long do running shoes last?”: Gauges accuracy on general product knowledge and durability expectations
“Of the trainers you’ve recommended, which ones will last the longest?”: Tests the accuracy of product details and the engine’s ability to remember details from previous prompts
“Can I wear any of these running shoes recommended for hiking?”: Assesses how each AI handles reasoning, real-world nuance, and potential safety considerations
I evaluated each tool on five factors:
Accuracy: Did it understand the intent and get the facts right?
Depth: Did it add helpful context or just summarize existing content?
Transparency: Did it credit or link to its sources?
User experience: Was the output fast, skimmable, and well-organized?
Adaptability: Could it handle follow-up questions naturally or refine vague prompts?
After testing all 11 AI search engines, these four stood out as the best for different reasons.
1. ChatGPT
Best for comprehensive research and shoppable product comparisons
This is true whether you’re comparing products, researching topics, or looking for a step-by-step tutorial.
It also remembers context across follow-up questions.
I started with a broad prompt and added specifics as the conversation progressed. ChatGPT remembered key details without making me repeat myself.
For shopping queries, the visual presentation stood out.
When I searched for running shoes, for example, ChatGPT returned products with images, prices, reviews, and short descriptions.
It also included links to retailers and external articles. This made verifying product details and purchasing easy.
The summary tables were particularly useful.
After inquiring about shoe lifespan, ChatGPT delivered a clean comparison table with products and their expected mileage.
For brands: ChatGPT’s visual layout isn’t just useful for shoppers. If you’re trying to get your brand referenced by AI search engines, it also reveals what these models prioritize. Use tables, clear specs, and organized categories on your product pages to help both shoppers and AI find your information faster.
ChatGPT is also evolving quickly.
Features like Instant Checkout (currently limited to select Etsy sellers in the United States) let users complete purchases directly inside the chat.
Great for shoppers — and even greater for the brands featured in ChatGPT’s recommendations.
Where ChatGPT Falls Short
When I tested ChatGPT, I got what most people want from AI search: answers that feel confident and complete.
But not every response was perfect.
Broad prompts, such as “Best running shoes,” resulted in lengthy lists of brands, product categories, and features.
The information took real effort to digest.
Specific prompts worked much better.
I also noticed minor inaccuracies in some instances, like when I asked about shoe lifespan.
After fact-checking the replies, some details didn’t match the manufacturer’s specifications.
For example, ChatGPT said the Brooks Ghost running shoe has a lifespan of 450 to 500 miles. But the actual range is 300 to 500 miles.
This also highlights a larger problem.
ChatGPT pulls information from multiple sources, such as blog posts and brand sites.
But it also relies on forums like Quora and Reddit, where users share personal experiences.
It then aggregates the information into its responses. This can lead to inaccurate and misleading information.
For brands: Provide clear answers to common user questions on your site. Otherwise, AI search engines may turn to other, potentially inaccurate sources for this information. Add tables with specifications, be explicit about ranges and measurements, and use structured data so AI can extract and cite your product information correctly.
ChatGPT also tends to be overly agreeable.
Whatever you prompt, ChatGPT will lean toward flattery and agreement — even when it involves safety.
For example, when I asked, “Can I wear any of these running shoes recommended for hiking?”
ChatGPT’s response was:
“Good question 👍 — you can hike in road running shoes, but whether it’s a good idea depends on the terrain and how far you’re going.”
Not the worst.
But not as good as other AI search engines in this aspect, like AI Mode, which was more cautious.
AI Mode said:
“It is not recommended to use the road running shoes previously mentioned for hiking…they lack the key features that provide the necessary grip, protection, and stability for off-road trails. Using them for hiking could lead to injury.”
Overall, ChatGPT is fast, detailed, and helpful.
But it can be too generous with information — and too polite to push back.
It pulls product listings, prices, and reviews directly into the search interface. This makes it ideal for shoppers who want to quickly compare products before purchasing.
What AI Mode Does Well
AI Mode shines when you have clear buying intent.
It instantly surfaces product options with images, prices, star ratings, and quick links to retailers. And it’s all in a clean, scrollable layout.
When I searched “best running shoes,” it showed a curated carousel of options with price comparisons across multiple sites.
I especially liked how it paired Google Reviews with its recommendations — a small detail that makes decision-making faster and builds trust.
For me, that worked perfectly.
Getting straight to the products moved me faster toward a decision.
But some users may prefer more background or context for researching and weighing options. ChatGPT’s research-style answers still win in this regard.
For brands: AI Mode pulls heavily from Google Reviews and structured product data. Focus on getting detailed, positive reviews and keeping your product schema markup up to date. These signals can influence whether your products appear in AI-generated results.
Where AI Mode Falls Short
AI Mode is not yet available in all countries, although it’s rolling out quickly.
And unlike ChatGPT, it didn’t provide any comparison tables for any of my prompts. Just products and bullet points.
This meant more scrolling and clicking to find and digest the information.
This was evident when I asked which of the recommended shoes would last the longest.
AI Mode’s response was vague and unhelpful. It said the Brooks Ghost shoe was “exceptionally long-lasting.”
It didn’t provide any of the specifics that would make me want to purchase this shoe. Like mileage range and how it differed between the options.
If you’re early in the evaluation phase, AI Mode can feel limiting.
But it delivers when you want a shortlist of top contenders.
Pricing
AI Mode is available for free within Google Search, depending on your region.
Best for research deep dives that build on previous questions
Sigma Chat’s iterative search and in-depth replies are excellent if you love to research.
Ask a question, get an answer, then drill deeper into related topics — and it remembers the full thread.
Note: Bagoodex launched in 2024 and has since rebranded as Sigma Chat. For this review, I tested it against the standard modes of other tools. ChatGPT’s Thinking mode and Perplexity’s Research mode are designed for deep research and may perform differently.
What Sigma Chat Does Well
Sigma Chat stood out for its ability to build on previous context.
When I asked follow-up questions, it remembered what I’d already searched and adjusted its answers accordingly.
No need to repeat myself or reframe the entire query.
For example, after I asked which of the recommended shoes would last the longest, it specifically referenced “marathons.”
(Even though I hadn’t mentioned this criterion again after the initial prompt.)
Sigma Chat’s follow-up suggestions also stood out for their potential to aid deep research.
Instead of ending with one answer, it nudged me toward related questions I hadn’t considered:
This makes it particularly helpful for any kind of research, whether you’re comparing products, building content outlines, or researching niches.
For brands: Sigma Chat rewards depth and topic clustering. To increase visibility in AI tools like this, build content hubs around your main topics — link related pages together and cover every sub-question your audience might ask. The more complete your coverage, the easier it is for AI to surface your site in deep research queries.
Another interesting feature of this AI search engine?
It suggests prompts tailored to content creation. This is especially helpful if you’re using it for marketing purposes.
After providing search results for the best running shoes for a marathon, it offered unexpected options like:
“Write a blog post about this topic”
“Create an image on this topic”
I tested the blog prompt, and it generated a quick draft titled “Marathon Training on a Budget: Choosing Durable Running Shoes.”
It wasn’t something you’d publish as-is, but it was a decent starting point.
If you’re prone to writer’s block or need to quickly draft comparison content around competitor products, it’s a particularly helpful feature.
From there, it suggested additional prompts like “Add a call to action” and “Shorten for social media.”
This makes it easy for marketers to generate content for multiple platforms at once.
Microsoft Copilot has the cleanest layout of any AI search engine I tested.
It’s fast, structured, and organized. Perfect for people who want distraction-free takeaways.
What Microsoft Copilot Does Well
When you ask Copilot a question, it responds instantly with skimmable categories, bullet points, and emojis.
For example, when I searched “best running shoes,” it broke recommendations into helpful categories:
“Best overall”
“Best stability shoe”
“Best daily trainer”
When I narrowed the query to “best running shoes for beginner marathon training,” Copilot further refined the results.
It added details about who each shoe was best for, making the advice more actionable — a nice touch for a tool focused on clarity.
Even for informational queries like “can I wear these for hiking,” Copilot delivered a simple breakdown.
And added specific scenarios where running shoes would and wouldn’t be ideal for hiking.
When you want fast, direct answers without having to sift through a bunch of content, Copilot is a great option.
For brands: Pay close attention to how Copilot structures its answers — categories, comparisons, “best for” labels. Use similar formatting on your own pages to help AI tools extract and present your content more effectively.
Where Microsoft Copilot Falls Short
Copilot’s polished format comes at a cost: depth and shoppability.
Its responses are tidy but often too surface-level — especially for commercial searches like “best running shoes.”
When I tested this prompt, it didn’t link directly to any product pages or show pricing.
So, I couldn’t easily comparison shop, verify information, or choose a merchant and purchase immediately.
Instead, it summarized content from other “best” listicles and linked those sources.
Like Sigma Chat, unless Microsoft improves its shoppability, it’s unlikely consumers will use it for this purpose.
Instead, Copilot works better as a light research tool — especially when you want fast information with minimal reading.
AI Search Engines That Didn’t Make the Cut (and Why)
All of these AI search engines had their pros and cons.
But overall, they fell short for different reasons.
Claude
I really liked Claude, but the output was very similar to ChatGPT.
This isn’t a problem, but I didn’t want to list tools that were similar in functionality.
I wanted to provide only the best.
Compared to ChatGPT, Claude lacked product links and visuals:
The wall of text made the information challenging to process.
I did like the categorization, but ChatGPT does this too — with tables that are easier to skim.
Perplexity
Like Claude, Perplexity came somewhat close to ChatGPT in overall performance.
When asked a prompt with buying intent, it provided a short summary along with product images, pricing, and star ratings.
No tables to help me quickly compare features and options, though.
The summary was also fairly generic.
And didn’t feel all that tailored to my prompt, even when I used the more specific “marathon” wording.
Brave
Brave, a privacy-focused AI search engine, felt too much like traditional search.
It features long lists of articles without any clear hierarchy or comparison features.
While this might be helpful for browsing links, it doesn’t summarize much or help you make quick decisions.
Andi
Andi, a minimal AI search tool, offered few results, sometimes just one (e.g., a single Reddit thread).
It’s a bit like the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button on Google. Simple to use but extremely limiting for in-depth research or shopping.
Arc
Arc, a mobile- and browser-based AI search engine, requires a download to use.
This is inconvenient compared to browser-based AI search.
When so many other options exist, it’s hard to justify using this AI engine for this reason alone.
You
You is a solid AI search engine that has been around for multiple years.
But it was slow to respond and didn’t link to products in commercial searches.
Ultimately, I found it less useful than the other AI tools overall.
What This Means for Your AI Search Visibility
After testing 11 AI search engines, one thing became clear.
No matter how their formatting or preferences differ, the goal remains the same: to serve clear, credible, and well-structured content.
If your pages do that — with comprehensive coverage, positive reviews, and clean markup — you’ll be positioned to perform well across all AI search engines and LLMs.
http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png00http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-11-18 14:52:452025-11-18 14:52:45I Tested 11 AI Search Engines: Only These 4 Made the Cut
The AI resume has become a C-suite-level asset that reflects your entire digital strategy.
To use it effectively, we first need to understand where AI is deploying it across the user journey.
How AI has rewritten the user journey
For years, our strategies were shaped by the inbound methodology.
We built content around a user-driven path through awareness, consideration, and decision, with traditional SEO acting as the engine behind those moments.
That journey has now been fundamentally reshaped.
AI assistive engines – conversational systems like Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity – are collapsing the funnel.
They move users from discovery to decision within walled-garden environments.
It’s what I call the BigTech walled garden AI conversational acquisition funnel.
For marketers, that shift can feel like a loss of control.
We no longer own the click, the landing page, or the carefully engineered funnel.
But from the consumer perspective, the change is positive.
Our job is to align with this best-service model by proving to the AI that our brand is the most credible answer.
That requires updating the ultimate goal.
For commercial queries, the win is no longer visibility.
It’s earning the perfect click – the moment when an AI system acts as a trusted advisor and chooses your brand as the best solution.
To get there, we have to broaden our focus from explicit branded searches to the three modes of research AI uses today:
Explicit.
Implicit.
Ambient.
Together, they define the new strategic landscape and lead to one truth.
In an AI-driven ecosystem, brand is what matters most.
3 types of research redefining what search is
These three behaviors reveal how users now discover, assess, and choose brands through AI.
Explicit research (brand): The final perfect click
Explicit research is any query that includes your brand name, such as:
Searches for your name.
“Brand name reviews.”
“Brand vs. competitor.”
They represent deliberate, high-stakes moments when a potential client, partner, or investor is actively researching your brand.
It’s the decision stage of the funnel, where they look for specific information about you or your services, or conduct a final AI-driven due diligence check before committing.
A strong AI assistive engine optimization (AIEO) strategy secures these bottom-of-funnel moments first.
You must engineer an AI resume – the AI equivalent of a brand SERP – that is positive, accurate, and convincing so the prospect who is actively looking for you converts.
Branded terms are the lowest-hanging fruit, the most critical conversion point in the new conversational funnel, and the foundation of AIEO.
Implicit research (industry/topic/comparison): Being top of algorithmic mind
Implicit research includes any topical query that does not contain a brand name.
These are the “best of” comparisons and problem-focused questions that happen at the top and middle of the funnel.
To win this part of the journey, your brand must be top of algorithmic mind, the state where an AI instinctively selects you as the most credible, relevant, and authoritative answer to a user’s query.
Consideration: When a user asks, “Who are the best personal injury law firms in Los Angeles?”, the AI builds a shortlist, and you cannot afford to be missing.
Awareness: When a user asks, “Give me advice about personal injury legal options after a car accident,” your chance to be included depends on whether the AI already understands and trusts your brand.
Implicit research is not about keywords. It is about being understood by the algorithms, demonstrating credibility, and building topical authority.
Here’s how it works:
The algorithms understand who you are.
They can effectively apply credibility signals. (An expanded version of Google’s E-E-A-T framework, N-E-E-A-T-T, incorporates notability and transparency.)
You have provided the content that demonstrates topical authority.
If you meet these three prerequisites, you can become top of algorithmic mind for user-AI interactions at the top and middle of the funnel, where implicit research happens.
Brand is the one constant across all three research modes. AI:
Recommends you in explicit research because it understands your brand’s facts.
Recommends you in implicit research because it trusts your credibility on a topic.
Advocates for you in ambient research because it has learned your brand is the most helpful default solution.
By building understandability, credibility, and deliverability, you are not optimizing for one type of search.
You are systematically teaching the AI to trust your brand at every possible interaction.
The brands that become the best teachers will be the ones an AI recommends across all three research modes.
It’s time to update your strategy or risk being left out of the conversation entirely.
Your final step: The strategic roadmap
You now understand the what – the AI resume – and the where – the three research modes.
Finally, we’ll cover the how: the complete strategic roadmap for mastering the algorithmic trinity with a multi-speed approach that systematically builds your brand’s authority.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-three-AI-research-modes-redefining-search-E28094-and-why-brand-wins-irqfZ5.webp?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=110801920http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-11-18 14:00:002025-11-18 14:00:00The three AI research modes redefining search – and why brand wins
By now, we’re all familiar with Google AI Overviews. Many queries you search on Google now surface responses through this quick and prominent search feature.
But AI Overview results aren’t always reliable or accurate.
Google’s algorithms can promote negative or misleading content, making online reputation management (ORM) difficult.
Here’s how to stay on top of AI Overviews and your ORM – by removing, mitigating, or addressing negative content.
How AI Overviews source information
AI Overviews relies on a mix of data sources across Google and the open web, including:
Google’s Knowledge Graph: The Knowledge Graph is Google’s structured database of facts about people, places, and things. It’s built from a range of licensed data sources and publicly available information.
Google’s tools and databases: Google also draws on structured data from its own systems. This includes information from:
Business Profiles.
The Merchant Center.
Other Google-managed datasets that commonly appear in search results.
Websites: AI Overviews frequently cites content from websites across the open web. The links that appear beside answers point to a wide variety of sources, ranging from authoritative publishers to lower-quality sites.
User-generated content (UGC): UGC can also surface in AI Overviews. This may include posts, reviews, photos, or publicly available content from community-driven platforms like Reddit.
Several other factors influence how this data is organized into answers, including topical relevance, freshness, and the authority of the source.
However, even with relevance and authority taken into consideration, harmful or false content can still appear in results.
This can happen for a variety of reasons, including:
Where the information is sourced.
How Google’s AI fills in gaps.
Instances where it may misunderstand the context of a user’s query.
Damages, or some harm caused to the reputation of the person or entity who is the subject of the statement.
Defamation standards vary by jurisdiction, and public figures may face a higher legal standard.
Because of this, proper documentation and professionalism are essential when filing a lawsuit, and working with a legal professional is likely in your best interest.
The other (and perhaps easier) route to take is working with an online reputation management specialist.
These teams are extremely well-versed at handling the multi-layered process of removals.
In an online crisis, they have the tools to respond and mitigate damage. They’re also trained to balance ethical considerations you might not always account for.
Clearer signals make it easier for AI Overview to present your brand correctly. Focus on the following areas.
Strengthening signals through publishing
One effective method is strategic publishing.
This means building a strong, positive presence around your company, business, or personal brand so AI Overviews have authoritative information to draw from.
A few approaches support this:
Publishing on credible domains: ORM firms often publish content on platforms like Medium, LinkedIn, and reputable industry sites. This strengthens your presence in trusted environments.
Employing consistent branding and factual accuracy: Content must also be factual and consistently branded. This reinforces authority and signals reliability.
Leveraging press releases and thought leadership: Press releases, thought leadership pieces, and expert commentary help create credible backlinks and citations across the web.
Supporting pages that build the narrative: ORM specialists also create supporting pages that reinforce key narratives. With the right linking and content clusters, AI Overviews is more likely to surface this material.
Leveraging structured data and E-E-A-T
Another effective method to establish credibility on AI Overviews is to focus on technical enhancements and experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).
ORM specialists typically focus on two areas:
Structured data and schema markup: This involves adding more context about your brand online by:
Enhancing author bios.
Highlighting positive reviews.
Reinforcing signals that reflect credibility.
Establishing E-E-A-T signals: This includes building a trusted online presence by:
Referencing work published in reputable outlets.
Highlighting real client examples.
Showcasing customer relationships.
Outlining accolades and expertise through your bio.
Monitoring AI Overviews and detecting issues early
A final key aspect of staying on top of AI Overviews is to monitor the algorithm and detect issues early.
Using tools to track AI Overviews is extremely efficient, and these systems can help business owners monitor keywords and detect potential damage.
For instance, you might use these tools to track your brand name, executive names, or even relevant products.
As discussed, it’s also crucial to have a plan in place in case a crisis ever hits.
This means establishing press outreach contact points and a legal department, and knowing how to suppress content via the suppression methods already mentioned.
Ethical considerations
Online reputation management isn’t just generating think pieces. It’s a layered process grounded in ethical integrity and factual accuracy.
To maintain a truthful and durable strategy, keep the following in mind:
Facts matter: Don’t aim to manipulate or deceive. Focus on promoting factual, positive content to AI Overview.
Avoid aggression: Aggressive tactics rarely work in ORM. There’s a balance between over-optimization and under-optimization, and an ORM firm can help you find it.
Think long-term: You may want negative or false content removed immediately, but lasting suppression requires a long-term plan to promote positive content year after year.
Managing how AI Overviews presents your brand
AI Overviews is already a dominant part of the search experience.
But its design means negative or false content can still rise to the top.
As AI Overviews become more prominent, business owners need to monitor their online reputation and strengthen the positive signals that surface in these results.
Over time, that requires strategic publishing, long-term planning, the right technical signals, and a commitment to factual, honest content.
By following these principles, AI Overviews can become an asset for growth instead of a source of harm.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/How-to-remove-or-suppress-negative-content-from-AI-Overviews-dqkp94.webp?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=110801920http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-11-18 13:00:002025-11-18 13:00:00Google AI Overviews: How to remove or suppress negative content
Picture a chocolate company with an elaborate recipe, generations old. They ask an AI system to identify which ingredients they could remove to cut costs. The AI suggests one. They remove it. Sales hold steady. They ask again. The AI suggests another. This continues through four or five iterations until they’ve created the cheapest possible version of their product. Fantastic margins, terrible sales. When someone finally tastes it, the verdict is immediate: “This isn’t even chocolate anymore.”
Aly Blawat, senior director of customer strategy at Blain’s Farm & Fleet, shared this story during a recent MarTech webinar to illustrate why 82% of marketing teams are failing at AI adoption: automation without human judgment doesn’t just fail. It compounds failure faster than ever before. And that failure has nothing to do with the technology itself.
The numbers tell the story. In a Forrester study commissioned by Optimove, only 18% of marketers consider themselves at the leading edge of AI adoption, even though nearly 80% expect AI to improve targeting, personalization and optimization. Forrester’s Rusty Warner, VP and principal analyst, puts this in context: only about 25% of marketers worldwide are in production with any AI use cases. Another third are experimenting but haven’t moved to production. That leaves more than 40% still learning about what AI might do for them.
“This particular statistic didn’t really surprise me,” Warner said. “We find that a lot of people that are able to use AI tools at work might be experimenting with them at home, but at work, they’re really waiting for their software vendors to make tools available that have been deemed safe to use and responsible.”
The caution is widespread. IT teams have controls in place for third-party AI tools. Even tech-savvy marketers who experiment at home often can’t access those tools at work until vendors embed responsible AI, data protections and auditability directly into their platforms.
The problem isn’t the AI tools available today. It’s that marketing work is still structured the same way it was before AI existed.
The individual vs. the organization
Individual marketers are thirsty for AI tools. They see the potential immediately. But organizations are fundamentally built for something different: control over brand voice, short-term optimization and manual processes where work passes from insights teams to creative teams to activation teams, each handoff adding days or weeks to cycle time.
Most marketing organizations still operate like an assembly line. Insights come from one door, creative from another, activation from a third. Warner called this out plainly: “Marketing still runs like an assembly line. AI and automation break that model, letting marketers go beyond their position to do more and be more agile.”
The assembly line model is excellent at governance and terrible at speed. By the time results return, they inform the past more than the present. And in a world where customer behavior shifts weekly, that lag becomes fatal.
The solution is “Positionless Marketing,” a model where a single marketer can access data, generate brand-safe creative and launch campaigns with built-in optimization, all without filing tickets or waiting for handoffs. It doesn’t mean eliminating collaboration. It means reserving human collaboration for major launches, holiday campaigns and sensitive topics while enabling marketers to go end-to-end quickly and safely for everything else.
Starting small, building confidence
Blain’s Farm & Fleet, a 120-year-old retail chain, began its AI journey with a specific problem: launching a new brand campaign and needing to adapt tone consistently across channels. They implemented Jasper, a closed system where they could feed their brand tone and messaging without risk.
“We were teaching it a little bit more about us,” Blawat said. “We wanted to show up cohesively across the whole entire ecosystem.”
Warner recommends this approach. “Start small and pick something that you think is going to be a nice quick win to build confidence,” he said. “Audit your data, make sure it’s cleaned up. Your AI is only going to be as good as the data that you’re feeding it.”
The pattern repeats: start with a closed-loop copy tool, then add scripts to clean product data, then layer in segmentation. Each step frees time, shortens cycles, and builds confidence.
Where data meets speed
Marketers aren’t drowning in too little data. They’re drowning in too much data with too little access. The 20% of marketing organizations that move fast centralize definitions of what “active customer,” “at risk,” and “incremental lift” actually mean. And they put those signals where marketers work, not in a separate BI maze.
“There’s massive potential for AI, but success hinges on embracing the change required,” Warner said. “And change is hard because it involves people and their mindset, not just the technology.”
The adoption lag isn’t about technology readiness. It’s about organizational readiness.
Balancing automation and authenticity
Generative AI took off first in low-risk applications: creative support, meeting notes, copy cleanup. Customer-facing decisions remain slower to adopt because brands pay the price for mistakes. The answer is to deploy AI with guardrails in the highest-leverage decisions, prove lift with holdouts and expand methodically.
Blawat emphasized this balance. “We need that human touch on a lot of this stuff to make sure we’re still showing up as genuine and authentic,” she said. “We’re staying true to who our brand is.”
For Blain’s Farm & Fleet, that means maintaining the personal connection customers expect. The AI handles the mechanics of targeting and timing. But humans ensure every message reflects the values and voice customers’ trust.
The future of marketing work
AI is moving from analysis to execution. When predictive models, generative AI and decisioning engines converge, marketers stop drawing hypothetical journeys and start letting the system assemble unique paths per person.
What changes? Less canvas drawing, more outcome setting. Less reporting theater, more lift by cohort. Fewer meetings, faster iterations.
Warner points to a future that’s closer than most organizations realize. “Imagine a world where I don’t come to your commerce site and browse. Instead, I can just type to a bot what it is I’m looking for. And I expect your brand to be responsive to that.”
That kind of conversational commerce will require everyone in the organization to become a customer experience expert. “It doesn’t matter what channel the customer uses,” Warner explained. “They’re talking to your brand.”
The path forward
There is no AI strategy without an operating model that can use it. The fix requires three fundamental changes: restructure how marketing work flows, measure lift instead of activity and enable marketers to move from idea to execution without handoffs.
The path forward requires discipline. Pick one customer-facing use case with clear financial upside. Define the minimum signals, audiences and KPIs needed. Enforce holdouts by default. Enable direct access to data, creative generation and activation in one place. Publish weekly lift by cohort. Expand only when lift is proven.
Warner expects adoption to accelerate significantly in 2026 as more vendors embed AI capabilities with proper guardrails. For brands like Blain’s Farm & Fleet, that future is already taking shape. They started with copywriting, proved value and are now expanding. The key was finding specific problems where AI could help and measuring whether it actually did.
AI will not fix a slow system. It will amplify it. Teams that modernize the way work gets done and lift the language of decisions will see the promise translate into performance.
As Blawat’s chocolate story reminds us, automation without judgment optimizes for the wrong outcome. The goal isn’t the cheapest product or the fastest campaign. It’s the one that serves customers while building the brand. That requires humans in the loop to point AI in the ri
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Optimove-20251118-v2-on6doc.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=110801920http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-11-18 12:00:002025-11-18 12:00:0082% of marketers fail AI adoption (Positionless Marketing can fix it) by Optimove
